The inhumanetrauma undergone by our Jesuit Priest Stan Swamy is most unfortunate and verychilling. It is unbecoming of any sensible system that he should have beenill-treated the way he was and that too at the age of 84. The Judiciary whichsymbolises the pillar of hope sadly also failed to rise to the occasion andpromptly save him from the torment he was going through and those clutches ofdeath.
Fr StanSwamy’s pilgrimage on earth may have ended but he will live in our heartsforever. A soldier of solidarity he was who so bravely and with couragechampioned the cause for a more humanitarian society. He stood for simplicityand empowerment of the exploited while always being a friend of the poor anddowntrodden.
TheConstitution of India envisages a free, fair and independent Judiciary. Thehighest standards of judicial independence must be ensured by warding off eventhe faintest trace of governmental influence on the judiciary. It has to beensured that judicial accountability is maintained at all times with everyJudge conforming to the highest standards of uprightness and integrity solelyto the Rule of Law.
Justice V RKrishna Iyer had said, “Even so, the creed of judicial independence is ourconstitutional ‘religion’ and, if the executive use Article 222 to imperil thisbasic tenet, the Court must ‘do or die’.
On accountof the legal system having failed to timely deliver, Fr Stan died a Martyrsacrificing his life in the battle against injustice. He will be missed moreparticularly by our less fortunate brethren who he tirelessly served all hislife with passion and care. His pending bail application died a natural death,but Fr Stan is finally free to now serve in the Kingdom of God.
